Kusunoki Ninja Princess
by Cierastar
Summary: Lily is just a regular young woman until one day she and her wolf friend are relaxing at a hidden hot springs when four ninja appear telling her that she is a Ninja Princess. Now it is up to Lily to defeat Nobunaga Oda to create a bright future for all ninja but in the process she'll begin to fall for the cold and mean ninja. Will Lily be able to win Saizo in the midst of war?
1. Prologue

Prologue

"_Mommy, daddy!" A girl the age of 4 ran around a big castle calling out her parents names. All of a sudden a huge fire was started by Nobunaga's forces and the castle was engulfed in flames. "Princess!" The little girl was swept up and rushed out of the castle. "We must protect the Princess no matter what! She is the most important so she needs to live!" The girl was hurried away from the castle and away from her parents to a village in the mountains. The ninja that carried her moved as fast as the wind. When they stopped the ninja walked over to an old man and gave the sleeping Princess to the old man. "Please take care of this child and protect her from harm. I believe she will not remember anything of what's happened til now. Please take care of her. Now I must leave. I trust that you'll take care of her?" The old man smiled at the ninja with a nod. "Of course I will. I'll raise her as if she were my own granddaughter so do not worry. She is in good hands but may I ask her name?" The ninja smiled as he stared at the sleeping girl. "Her name is Lily." The elder smiled as he looked down at the small girl. "Lily means beauty and purity. It is a name worthy of a pretty little girl like her." The ninja left after the elder finished his sentence and from that day forward Lily was raised by the elder_

Village Elder's POV

"Excuse me but have you seen Lily?" I asked one of the monks that lived in the temple.

"Sorry sir but I haven't seen the young one today. But my guess is that she's probably jumping trees or racing animals again." The monk walked back towards the temple as I started towards the forest looking for the eight year old girl. I walked through the small village and greeted everyone when they greeted me. I finally reached the forest and walked towards one of Lily's favorite spots.

"Lily it is time to go home now!" I yelled through the forest and I heard nothing except the wind and the rustling of leaves. _Where is that girl? _I thought when all of a sudden she came out of nowhere and made a flip as she landed on the ground.

"Okay grandpa!" She smiled so sweetly that she looked even more innocent than before. She took my hand and we started back towards the house.

Lily's POV

It's really fun when you sneak up on someone because they never know where I am because I'm so quiet! Me and grandpa walked back towards the house in silence.

I always wonder who my parents were and what happened to them. Grandpa said that they died when I was younger but I'm not sure. I always have dreams of this beautiful woman and in some of the dreams she would hug me and speak sweetly to me. Sometimes a handsome man would appear beside the lady and talk just as sweet. They would always look at me so lovingly but I didn't really know who they were but someday I will find out about my parents! That I promise!

_(A Few Weeks Later) _I was walking through the forest when I came upon a snow white wolf pup.

"Hello there little one." I reached my hand out to her and she sniffed it cautiously before coming closer and sniffing me. "Ahaha! Want to come home with me?"

"Raff!" I picked up the little wolf and began walking back towards our house.

"I'll call you Yuki. What do you think?" I asked the little pup in my arms.

"Raff Raff!" I giggled as the pup happily wagged her tail. When I got back to the house I asked grandpa if I could keep Yuki and after awhile of begging he finally gave in. From that day forward me and Yuki have been the best of friends.

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**Hi guys I hope you like this chapter because more will be up soon and that's pretty much all I have to say! So farewell for now! :D**


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: I'm A Princess?!

_(12 Years Later) _My 20th birthday had already passed and grandpa had gotten me a sapphire blue ribbon that matched the color of my eyes. It's not much but I still like it anyways. I had also found a beautiful white lily and placed it in my hair. As I walk to the hot springs I'm greeted by everyone in the village.

"Good morning Lily! How have you been?" I looked towards an elderly woman and smiled sweetly.

"I'm doing fine and how are you?" The woman's eyes lit up with happiness.

"I'm doing fine thank you!" The woman smiled with a gentle look in her eyes as I continued to the hot springs.

"Miss Lily is always so kind, hardworking, and generous!"

"Yes she is and she is a very beautiful young woman too!" I heard the voices of the villagers as they talked so fondly about me.

"Yes she must be the most beautiful young woman in the whole village!" I felt my face heat up as the comments continued to come. I began walking in the direction of the hot springs hidden on the mountain. The wind picked up a little and blew through my burgundy colored hair silently. Eventually a familiar big ball of fur came bounding towards me.

"Hello Yuki!" I greeted the oversize female wolf. I called her Yuki because she's snow white and that's what the name meant. Yuki is bigger than most female wolves because she was always fed and never had to fend for herself.

"Woof! Woof!" Yuki greeted me back by barking and licking my hand. After our little greeting we walked straight towards the hot spring. Grandpa never liked it when I went off on my own even if I did have Yuki so I always brought two knives with me just in case. We reached the secluded hot springs and felt the familiar heat of the water. I slowly took off my sapphire blue kimono with pink cherry blossoms spread out along the bottom half of it. I folded the kimono carefully and placed it down on a rock. Then I removed my sandals and also placed them on the rock before slipping into the hot water. I also made sure to remove the ribbon from my hair but I decided to leave the flower alone. I sat down on a rock that was in the water and sighed in content. Yuki sat down next to me on the firm earth. I always came here with Yuki when I felt like it which was every day. It was the only hidden hot springs on the mountain and luckily for me I'm the only one (besides Yuki) who knows about this place. My porcelain skin seemed to have a kind of radiance that made me look beautiful and delicate in front of others or so I'm told constantly by everyone in the village. The hot water on my skin felt so good and relaxing which is why I loved it here. I recalled how I came across this place. It was by accident really but that day I was leaping through the trees from branch to branch like I did when I was a child when I came across this place with Yuki and ever since that day we came here all the time.

_(20 Minutes Later) _I notice Yuki's ears flip back and she sniffed the air with caution. Yuki stared at one of the trees intently and I then knew that something was wrong. I listened really closely and heard faint voices coming from the tree.

"She's so beautiful!" I heard an energetic voice whisper rather loudly.

"Shut up you idiot or she'll find us!" I heard another voice warn in a quiet whisper.

"I didn't think she would have this much sex appeal." Another voice sounded slightly amazed. _Ugh perverts! I should be the only one who knows of this place! _I moved over to my kimono silently and pulled out some knives. I moved back to where I was and kept my hands in the water holding onto the knives.

"You shouldn't talk about her that way Goemon…" The last voice was too quiet for me to hear but whatever! _I want to know why they're here and that's exactly what I'm going to find out! _Just like that I threw both knives at the tree. _Thud! Thud! _I heard the dull sound of the knives hitting the tree and I quickly jumped out of the water and threw my clothes on. I put my ribbon away in my bosom and slid my feet into my sandals.

"Ah what the hell?!" _Thud! _A boy with orange hair and green eyes fell from the tree wearing ninja attire? Three other men jumped from the tree also wearing ninja attire. The first one had red hair and reddish brown eyes while the other one had snow white hair and red eyes. As for the last one he had blue violet hair and aqua colored eyes.

"Who are you?" I asked pulling out a bow and two arrows from a hiding spot. I kept it hidden there just in case but I never thought I'd actually need them. I readied an arrow and pointed it at them. They remained silent and I let loose the arrow and it flew straight past the red headed guy's head. "Next time I won't miss! Who are you?"

"Damn she has a deadly aim!" The younger guy said in amazement. The white haired guy spoke up in a monotone voice.

"We are ninja from Koga, Fuma, and Iga. We've come to retrieve you Princess." _Ninja? Princess? What are they talking about?_

"I'm Sasuke Sarotobi and I'm a ninja from Koga." The orange haired guy spoke with excitement.

"I'm Goemon Ishikawa and I'm one of the greatest ninja in Iga and I'm really great between the sheets. I can show you…" The red headed guy approached me and I responded quickly.

"Um, no." I said flatly. Goemon gave a small pout and moved away when he saw Yuki give him a warning look.

"I'm Saizo Kirigakure and I'm a ninja from Koga like the stupid monkey here." Said the guy with the blue violet hair.

"…I am Kotaro Fuma and I will lay down my life to protect you Princess."_ Lay down his life? Why are they calling me Princess?_

"I'm Lily Hajime. Why do you continue to call me _Princess_ and what do you mean by _we're here to retrieve you_?" I was hopelessly lost with this conversation.

"You are the Kusunoki Ninja Princess. Daughter of Musashige and Mika Kusunoki." _Ninja Princess? Surely they are mistaken. _I thought as I stared at them. "I don't know what you're talking about." I sighed.

"Who raised you? We will speak more with them." Saizo said with his arms crossed.

"The Village Elder. I'll take you to him then." I said as I began to walk towards the village. Yuki walked beside me and would glance back occasionally to check on the ninjas. I still carried the bow and arrows in my hand with the two shurikens in my bosom. We reached the entrance of the village and walked straight towards a house that was a bit bigger than the others. I entered the house with Yuki and the ninja and entered a room.

"Grandpa these men wish to speak with you." I only said that and left the room with Yuki leaving the ninja with my grandpa.

Third Person POV

Lily walked away with a graceful movement and air about her. The ninja sat down in front of the elder with serious expressions matching the elder's.

"Why are ninja here in this village?" The elder asked slowly.

"We came to retrieve the Ninja Princess." Saizo spoke calmly.

"Already? I didn't think that this day would come so soon…" The elder's voice shook as he thought about his granddaughter.

"She is the Kusunoki Ninja Princess. The source of all ninjutsu. She is the sole heir to the Kusonoki style and she is the Symbol of Unity for all ninjas." Saizo spoke calmly with the elder. "She was given to you by a ninja so she would be safe. As you know Nobunaga Oda wants to wipe out all ninja. He already knows of that woman's existence so she is no longer safe here and neither are you or the villagers. We must bring her back to Iga with us so she can start her training." Saizo finished and the elder fell silent.

"I guess it can't be helped. Lily…she's always been very agile, silent, and quick. You never know where she is or if she's there but she knows if you're there. She's always leapt from the trees and would come up behind you without a sound. She is very quick when she is running. She's like a blur and then she's gone like the wind. Her aim…she's always had such a perfect aim even without practice. I have no doubts of your words." The elder stopped talking and nodded his head slowly. "She may go with you but please keep her safe." The ninja nodded before standing up. "You will find her at the center of the village playing with the children." The ninja left in the direction of the center of the village.

Lily's POV

I was in the center of the village playing with the children and Yuki.

"You have to count now Lily!" A little girl said excitedly.

"Okay, okay. 1…2…3..." Before I could get to the next number…

"Grrr!"

"AHH!" The children started screaming because there was a bear in the village!

"Yuki get the children out of the area!" Yuki did as I said and herded the children to another part of the village.

"Growl!" The bear was obviously agitated. I slowly approached the bear and spoke in a soothing voice.

"It's okay I'm not going to hurt you…" The bear looked into my eyes and calmed down. I felt eyes on me but I brushed it off and approached the bear. "Ah…so your foot was caught in a trap…" The bear's foot was caught in a trap and the wound went deep. I reached my hand out and the bear sniffed it before putting its muzzle against my hand. I petted the bear's muzzle and he calmed down even more. "Here let me take the trap off. Now this may hurt but please bear with it…" I put my hands on the trap and pried it open. The bear roared in pain as I removed the trap. "There all better." I said softly and the bear rubbed its head against my hand before departing back into the forest. I disposed of the trap and turned to find four very surprised faces with one knowing face.

"Once again well done, Lily." I smiled at grandpa.

"Thank you grandpa." Grandpa looked at the surprised ninjas and laughed.

"Ahaha! I forgot to mention that all animals adore Lily." Yuki came back with the children right after grandpa said that.

"Is the bear gone…?" Asked a little boy. I knelt down in front of him with a warm smile.

"Yes it's gone now." The boy smiled and hugged me.

"Thank you Lily! You're the best!" I giggled as I hugged the boy back. I released the boy and saw serious looks on everyone's faces.

"Okay all of you run along now." The children ran off to another part of the village and I turned to face the ninjas.

"You must pick one of us to travel with." _Travel? What does he mean? Where are we going? _

"Lily you are the Kusunoki Ninja Princess. You are the source of all ninjutsu and a Symbol of Unity for all ninjas. You must go with them to Iga for the safety of yourself and the village. I can no longer keep you safe but they can. I am not your real grandpa and I am not related to you in any way. The only purpose I was given was to keep you safe and now you must go." I looked down for a few minutes before looking back up.

"Okay… I'll go with Saizo then." I said quietly.

"Saizo you'd better take care of her!" Sasuke was obviously upset with my choice. I turned to grandpa as the ninjas dealt with Sasuke.

"Don't look so sad Lily. We'll see each other again I'm sure of it. Now off you go." I hugged grandpa tightly.

"Bye grandpa…" I whispered to him softly.

"Bye Lily… Make a bright future for yourself and all the ninjas." I nodded my head as I pulled away. Unfortunately for me Saizo made me leave any weapons I had in possession. Of course I kept Yuki with me. Goemon, Kotaro, and Sasuke took different routes to get to Iga. Sasuke took the mountain road, Goemon traveled on another road that went through a couple cities, Kotaro traveled through the trees, while me and Saizo traveled the road through the forest. The road was long and difficult from what I'm used to but I managed. I kept up with Saizo nicely as we walked. Saizo seemed a little impressed at how well I was keeping up. Every now and then we'd stop somewhere and train a bit. Saizo taught me how to use a sickle and chain but I still need just a little more practice with it but I'll get better at it! I wonder about my real training as a ninja because as soon as I get to Iga that will be the start of my real ninja training.

**I hope you guys liked this chapter because I had to rethink on it so many times that it gave me a headache but anyway here it is and I hope you liked it! In chapter 2 Lily and Saizo will have some…difficulties but they will get to their destination in the end and that will only be the beginning! So please leave comments and I'll see you in the next chapter! Bye! ;D**


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